Airflow outlet of air-conditioning device

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an airflow outlet of air-conditioning device, which comprises a main body having one end forming an entrance opening and an opposite end forming a plurality of outward-projecting curved ridges. At least one of the curved ridges has a side wall forming at least one through hole to allow air to pass through the through hole. The present invention allows airflows generated by an air-conditioning device to be conducted to the through hole to be discharged therefrom. Since the through hole is formed in a side wall, airflows do not blow directly down as that occurring in the conventional devices and instead blowing sideways so as to eliminate any potential risk of causing discomfort of persons located under the airflow outlet.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to an airflow outlet structureof air-conditioning device, and more particularly to an airflow outletthat is structured to allow airflows generated by an air-conditioningdevice to blow downward.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Referring to FIG. 1, an airflow outlet that is provided for anair-conditioning device generally mounted to a light steel frame isshown and is used in combination with a central control air-conditioningdevice, such as air-conditioning devices installed in high buildings, toregulate the temperature of indoor spaces. Such a known airflow outletis an airflow outlet that is composed of a plurality of concentricframes, where airflows generated by the air-conditioning device areallowed to blow out through the spacing between adjacent ones of theconcentric frames.

However, experiences show that airflows blowing out of such an airflowoutlet are generally guided to blow directly downward. This makespersons that are located exactly below the airflow outlet uncomfortablycold or hot and may lead to health problems, such as headaches. This isparticularly problematic for public sites where crowd may gather, suchas restaurants and movie theaters, for it may make the customers ofthese sites uncomfortable and affecting the quality of service provided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of such problems, the present invention provides an airflowoutlet of air-conditioning device, which comprises main body having oneend forming an entrance opening and an opposite end forming a pluralityof outward-projecting curved ridges, wherein each curved ridge has aside wall forming at least a through hole to allow air to pass thethrough hole.

The present invention allows airflows blown from an air-conditioningdevice to be conducted to the through hole to be discharged therefrom.Since the through hole is formed in the side wall, the airflows do notblow downward directly as was observed in the conventional device andinstead, the airflows blow sideways, so that discomfort of personscaused by airflows directly impinging the persons can be eliminated.

Preferably, each of the curved ridges has a height that is graduallydecreased from a center of the main body toward the outside.

Preferably, the curved ridges are arranged to be adjacent to each other.

Preferably, the main body further comprises an outward-projectingcup-like protrusion, which comprises a cup body and a bottom cover thatis set on an end of the cup body, and the cup body comprises at leastone through hole so as to increase airflow discharge sites at differentorientations.

Preferably, the bottom cover further comprises at least one airflowguide plate and a rotatable mechanism is coupled between the bottomcover and the cup body so as to allow the bottom cover to be rotatablewith respect to the cup body. As such, airflows generated can beconducted to discharge sideways in a swirling manner to expand the rangeof spreading.

Preferably, the cup body further comprises an extendable structure toallow the length of the cup body to be increased, which together withthe through hole formed in the cup body, can expand the range ofspreading.

The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introductionto the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects ofthe present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detaileddescription of the invention and the claims should be read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specificationand drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similarparts.

Many other advantages and features of the present invention will becomemanifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to thedetailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which apreferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of thepresent invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional airflow outlet.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is also a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the embodiment of the present inventionthat is combined with a cup-like protrusion.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the embodiment of the presentinvention that is combined with the cup-like protrusion.

FIG. 8 is also a cross-sectional view showing the embodiment of thepresent invention that is combined with the cup-like protrusion (witharrows showing directions of airflows).

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the presentinvention that is combined with an extendable cup-like protrusion (withthe cup in an extended condition).

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the presentinvention that is combined with the extendable cup-like protrusion (withthe cup in a retracted condition).

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the presentinvention that is combined with another extendable cup-like protrusion.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the extendable cup-likeprotrusion of FIG. 11 in a retracted condition.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the presentinvention that is combined with a further extendable cup-likeprotrusion.

FIG. 14 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the presentinvention that is combined with a further extendable cup-likeprotrusion.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 17 is a bottom view showing a further embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a bottom view showing yet a further embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 19.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are notintended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of theinvention in any way. Rather, the following description provides aconvenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of theinvention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made inthe function and arrangement of the elements described without departingfrom the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing anembodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a front view of theembodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view ofthe embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 5 is also across-sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 2-5, an airflow outlet of air-conditioning deviceaccording to the embodiment comprises a main body 10. The main body 10has an end forming an entrance opening 11 and an opposite end forming aplurality of outward-projecting curved ridges 20. Further, the curvedridges 20 each have side walls forming at least one a through hole 21 toallow airflow that enters from the entrance opening 11 to move throughthe through holes 21. The entrance opening 11 can be configured in theform shown in the drawings in order to couple to piping of anair-conditioning device.

Reference being also made to the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 5,when airflows (indicated by arrows W) generated by the air-conditioningdevice blow from the top side of the drawing to the bottom side, theairflows pass through the entrance opening 11 to be discharged throughthe through holes 21 of the curved ridges 20. Since the through holes 21are formed in the side walls of the curved ridges 20, the airflows areguided to blow sideways, whereby persons located below are not directlyblown by the airflow and thus no discomfort will be perceived.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, each of the curved ridges 20 has a height Hthat is gradually decreased from a center of the main body 10 toward theoutside so that individual airflows respectively blowing through thethrough holes 21 do not interfere with each other and can thus blow amuch longer distance to thereby improve overall temperature controlcapability of the air-conditioning device.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, adjacent ones of the curved ridges20 are arranged to juxtapose and connect to each other to facilitatemanufacture thereof. Further, the embodiment can be formed as a unitarymember and can be made of plastics or metals to simplify themanufacturing process.

Referring to FIGS. 6-8, the main body 10 further comprises anoutward-projecting cup-like protrusion 30. The cup-like protrusion 30comprises a cup body 31 and a bottom cover 32. The bottom cover 32 isset at an end of the cup body 31. Further, the cup body 31 comprises atleast one through hole 311. Thus, when airflows (indicated by arrows inFIG. 8) travels from the top side to the bottom side, the airflows maybe discharged through the through hole 311 and the through holes 21. Assuch, airflows in different directions can be additionally provided.

The cup body 31 can be of an extendable structure to allow the cup body31 to selectively extend or retract thereby providing additionalcombinations of airflow directions. Various solutions that are known toprovide an extendable structure and two are discussed below to allowthose having ordinary skills in the art to understand the extendablestructure, but the present invention is not limited to such twostructures.

First Type of Extendable Structure:

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the extendable structure is composed of afirst cup body 312 and a second cup body 313. The first cup body 312comprises a first upper cup opening 3121, a first lower cup opening3122, and a first internal retention strip 3123. The first internalretention strip 3123 is mounted to an inside surface of the first cupbody 312. The second cup body 313 comprises a second upper cup opening3131, a second lower cup opening 3132, and a second external retentionstrip 3133. The second external retention strip 3133 is mounted to anoutside surface of the second cup body 313. The bottom cover 32 is seton the second lower cup opening 3132. The second upper cup opening 3131is received in the first cup body 312 and is movable inside the firstcup body 312. Further, the second external retention strip 3133 isarranged on the first internal retention strip 3123. The second cup body313 is slidable downward to such a location where the second externalretention strip 3133 abuts the first internal retention strip 3122 andis the prevented from further sliding downward, whereby the relativeposition between the first cup body 312 and the second cup body 313 canbe fixed to facilitate convenience of use.

Further, the through hole 311 can be formed in the first cup body 312 orthe second cup body 313 in such a way to allow airflows to flow outsideways, rather than directly blowing downward.

Second Type of Extendable Structure:

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the extendable structure is composed of atleast one first cup body 314 and at least one second cup body 315.

The first cup body 314 comprises a first upper cup opening 3141 and afirst lower cup opening 3142.

The second cup body 315 comprises a second upper cup opening 3151 and asecond lower cup opening 3152. The second upper cup opening 3151 has adiameter that is greater than or equal to diameter of the first lowercup opening 3142 and diameter of the second lower cup opening 3152 isless than that of the first lower cup opening 3142. The bottom cover 32is set on the second lower cup opening 3152.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the bottom cover 32 may be furtherprovided with at least one airflow guide plate 321. A rotatablemechanism 33 is mounted between the bottom cover 32 and the cup body 31to allow the bottom cover 32 to be rotatable with respect to the cupbody 31. Here, a frame 331 is coupled inside the cup body 31 and a bar332 rotatably couple the bottom cover 32 and the frame 331, whereby whenairflows that blow toward airflow guide plate 321 may drive the bottomcover 32 to rotate. The rotation induces centrifugal force that helpsspread the airflow further. An alternative arrangement shown in FIG. 15may also be used for combination with an extendable structure.

Further, the curved ridges 20 may be arranged in the ways shown in FIG.16, where the curved ridges 20 are arranged parallel to each other, oras shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, they are made in a concentric arrangementwith the ridges 20 getting closer to the ground in a direction fromoutside to inside. Or alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, theridges are arranged in radiating form and the curves make the ridges 20getting close to the ground in a direction from outside to inside. Thesedrawings are simply provided to illustrate the numerous possiblearrangements of the curved ridges 20, which are not limited to the formillustrated in FIG. 2. Further, although these drawings show noextendable cup arranged at the center, yet they can be used incombination with extendable cups or cups having rotatable bottoms toachieve such functions.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together may also find a useful application in other types ofmethods differing from the type described above.

While certain novel features of this invention have been shown anddescribed and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intendedto be limited to the details above, since it will be understood thatvarious omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the formsand details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be madeby those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spiritof the present invention.

I claim:
 1. An airflow outlet of air-conditioning device, comprising: amain body, which has one end forming an entrance opening and an oppositeend forming a plurality of curved ridges, at least one of the curvedridges having a side wall in which at least one through hole is formedto allow airflow that enters the entrance opening to pass through thethrough hole.
 2. The airflow outlet of air-conditioning device accordingto claim 1, wherein each of the curved ridges has a height that isgradually decreased from a center of the main body toward the outside.3. The airflow outlet of air-conditioning device according to claim 1,wherein the curved ridges are arranged to be adjacent to each other. 4.The airflow outlet of air-conditioning device according to claim 1,wherein the main body further comprises an outward-projecting cup-likeprotrusion, the cup-like protrusion comprising a cup body and a bottomcover, the bottom cover being set on an end of the cup body, the cupbody comprising at least one through hole.
 5. The airflow outlet ofair-conditioning device according to claim 4, wherein the bottom coverfurther comprises at least one airflow guide plate, a rotatablemechanism being coupled between the bottom cover and the cup body toallow the bottom cover to be rotatable with respect to the cup body. 6.The airflow outlet of air-conditioning device according to claim 5,wherein the cup body comprises an extendable structure to allow the cupbody to selectively extend/retract.
 7. The airflow outlet ofair-conditioning device according to claim 6, wherein the extendablestructure comprises: at least one first cup body, which comprises afirst upper cup opening and a first lower cup opening; and at least onesecond cup body, which comprises a second upper cup opening and a secondlower cup opening, wherein diameter of the second upper cup opening isgreater than or equal to diameter of the first lower cup opening anddiameter of the second lower cup opening is smaller than the diameter ofthe first lower cup opening, the bottom cover being set on the secondlower cup opening.
 8. The airflow outlet of air-conditioning deviceaccording to claim 7, wherein the curved ridges are arranged in aconcentric form or a radiating form.
 9. The airflow outlet ofair-conditioning device according to claim 6, wherein the extendablestructure comprises: at least one first cup body, which comprises afirst upper cup opening, a first lower cup opening, and a first internalretention strip, wherein the first internal retention strip is mountedto an inside surface of the first cup body; and at least one second cupbody, which comprises a second upper cup opening, a second lower cupopening, and a second external retention strip, wherein the secondexternal retention strip is mounted to an outside surface of the secondcup body and the bottom cover is set on the second lower cup opening;wherein the second upper cup opening is received in the first cup bodyand is movable in the first cup body and the second external retentionstrip is arranged on the first internal retention strip.
 10. The airflowoutlet of air-conditioning device according to claim 9, wherein thecurved ridges are arranged in a concentric form or a radiating form.